City remembers soldiers killed in IRA bomb attack

Council chief executive David Burns; Lieutenant Colonel C. M Wood, Commanding Officer of NI Garrison Support Unit; Mayor Alan Givan and RBL representatives were among those who attended the commemoration.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has commemorated the lives of six soldiers who were killed in an IRA bomb attack at the Lisburn Half Marathon more than 30 years ago.

The local authority held a special act of remembrance at the location in the city centre where the terrorists' bomb exploded under the soldiers' unmarked van as they made their way back to barracks after completing the half marathon and charity fun run on June 15, 1988.

Mayor Alan Givan and Mayoress Elizabeth Givan were joined in Market Place on Wednesday by Lieutenant Colonel C. M Wood, Commanding Officer of NI Garrison Support Unit; fellow elected members, and members of the Lisburn Branch of the Royal British Legion and the Royal British Legion Riders Branch.

Each organisation laid a wreath in memory of the lost soldiers.

“The attack 31 years ago is an event the city will never forget. It was a dark time for Lisburn’s close-knit community. We have a duty to mark this tragedy and pay our respects annually to those brave soldiers who lost their lives on a warm summer evening. I am humbled to lay a wreath at the memorial plaque to commemorate these soldiers’ lives, " Cllr Givan said.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to give my deepest sincerities to the families of those who died; and to acknowledge others who were deeply affected by this attack in which six men died young and 11 others were injured.

"Lisburn and Castlereagh will continue to remember the lives lost on 15th June 1988 and the impact this tragedy had on the thousands of people in Lisburn," he added.